She’s baaa-aaack! Ginny Louise and the School Field Day

 

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Last June, Ginny Louise made her debut in Ginny Louise and the School Showdown which introduces readers to one irrepressibly cheerful hedgehog who happens to be the new kid at Truman Elementary. Now Truman Elementary is not a typical school. Nope. Its student body includes the likes of the Truman Elementary Troublemakers—Cap’n Catastrophe, Destructo Dude, and Make-My-Day May.

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I wrote all about it here.

This June, Ginny Louise and company are back in Ginny Louise and the School Field Day, written by yours truly and illustrated by the amazing Lynn Munsinger.

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When my editor, Steph Lurie at Disney*Hyperion, asked for a sequel, I was equally thrilled and nervous. I loved where I had left the characters in Ginny Louise and the School Showdown. Cap’n Catastrophe, Destructo Dude, and Make-My-Day May found out just how good being good actually can be and Ginny Louise discovered that it’s okay not to be 100% goody-goody.

Could I possibly write another book that would show further character growth for all of them?

So I stressed.

I called one of the girls in my critique group for the Janee Trasler Pep Talk.

Then I stared at my blank screen for a long, long time.

Luckily, I knew two things. First, my editor wanted the same characters in the second book. Second, she wanted the book to take place at school.

I decided to play with that information and see where it led me.

I brainstormed various events that occur in a typical school year:  first day of school, holiday parties, school carnival, concert, school play, school field day, last day of school….

I decided to go with school play. I soon discovered, however, that my publishing house already had a book that used a similar event.

So…scratch the school play.

I decided to go with school carnival. But, while my editor and her team liked the manuscript, they wondered if this was an event that occurred in every school.

So…scratch the school carnival.

My editor suggested I give the school field day a try.

So…I did.

It was actually the perfect fit for my cast because it turns out that Cap’n Catastrophe, Descructo Dude, and Make-My-Day May are not too great at playing fair. This gave me a lot of material to work with as I developed this story.

For example, Destructo Dude plots to win the long jump by using his super gear.

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Another fun scene was the sack race.

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As you can see by that spread, the trio looks bound and determined to win.

But do they win? And what happens if they don’t???

Find out on June 14 when Ginny Louise and the School Field Day races onto the scene.

THE GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate the soon-to-be-released Ginny Louise and The School Field Day, I’m giving away a signed copy of the book to one lucky duck commenter.

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LAST MONTH’S GIVEAWAY WINNER:

The winner of a copy of I LOVE CAKE!: Starring Rabbit, Porcupine, and Moose is Bridget Magee.

CAKE!!!

Tammi Sauer

Tammi Sauer, a former teacher and library media specialist, is a full-time children's book author who presents at schools and conferences across the country. She has more than 30 published picture books and has many others on the way. Her books have received awards, earned starred reviews, made lists, been made into musicals, and been translated into many different languages. Most importantly, kids really like her books! To learn more about Tammi and her books, please visit tammisauer.com and follow her on Twitter at @SauerTammi.

96 Comments:

  1. Loved the first Ginny Louise book and am so happy to hear that she is staring in a sequel! Congratulations Tammi and I am looking forward to reading about Truman Elementary’s Field Day!

  2. Can’t wait! Love a good sack race!

  3. Ginny Louise is so sweet…thanks for sharing!

  4. Can’t wait to add this PB to my T.S. honorary shelf. <3 your books!!

  5. This looks like a cute read! Congrats!

  6. I absolutely adore Tammy’s books!

  7. Looks like a fun book with lovable characters. Can’t wait to get my hands (and eyes) on it!

  8. Kathy Mazurowski

    Love Ginny Louise! Can’t wait to read her next adventure!

  9. This looks so fun! At first I thought it was about a field TRIP. But mostly because we just finished a profusion of field trips for all of my elementary children. Still, it might be an idea for another Ginny Louise book. 🙂

    Excited to see this one. Ginny Louise is such a fun character!

  10. I’ve got June 14th marked on my calendar! Can’t wait to read it! All your books are awesome!!

  11. I have the 1st book and can’t wait to see what the Field Day brings!

  12. Lindsay Hanson Metcalf

    This book looks so cute! Now I need to go check out the first one.

  13. Looks like a fun book! Looking forward to reading it! Thanks for sharing your process of figuring out the sequel!

  14. Loved the first book. Looking forward to seeing this one!

  15. I can’t wait to read more adventures with Ginny Louise. It was fun to read how the Field Day came to be. It’s good to know that everybody has to think and tweak things. Thanks!

  16. This looks adorable! And now I’m even more excited to learn from Tammi at her SCBWI workshop tomorrow!

  17. Thanks for sharing the process for this book and how you had to change it before it worked! You continue to inspire :-). Can’t wait to read this one, Tammi!

  18. Huge congratulations on another fun book, Tammi. The illustrations are gorgeous in a perfect way. Counting down the days to read about Ginny Louise’s adventure,

  19. Oh, I remember field day and not too fondly, I may say. But I think reading this pb would definitely make me feel better about it.

  20. So exciting!!! Of course, I love Ginny Louise! Can’t wait to read this new one! So very proud of you, Tammi! ?

  21. Congratulations, Tammi! Great hearing about your process of creating the sequel and I can’t wait to read it! Delightful as always and the release day is my daughter’s birthday, too!! Hugs, Rrosie 🙂

  22. Hurray for sequels! Looking forward to reading this one, Tammi. Will miss your energy at the NJ SCBWI this weekend.

  23. Hip, hip, hooray! We’re just a few days away from the release! I hope I get to hear even more details tomorrow at the SCBWI workshop!

  24. Enjoyed hearing about the other versions and your determination to get the right story. Congratulations, Tammi! Looking forward to spending time with Ginny Louise again!!

  25. Yay for Ginny Louise book 2! Congratulations, Tammi.
    And thanks for the CAKE book – Yippee!

  26. This looks wonderful, Tammi. I LOVE Destructo Dude–so cute! Congrats!!

  27. Thank you, Tammi, for sharing the process behind this wonderful book. I can’t wait for that sack race! All the best to you.

  28. Can’t wait to see the new Ginny Louise!

  29. Love the characters you chose. Ginny has some fierce competition! The illustrations are terrific. Thanks!

  30. Another wonderful book. I’m so excited for you, Tammi!

  31. Thanks, Tammi, for sharing your journey on your new book. I love the bionic boots!

  32. Jennifer Rumberger

    So glad they asked for a sequel. Ginny Louise is great! Can’t wait to read it!

  33. There seems to be no end to your imagination! Can’t wait to see this story.

  34. Ashley Bankhead

    This book looks adorable! We own the first, and my kids would love to have the sequel. Plus, now I need to know who wins. 🙂

  35. Cassie Bentley

    Cannot wait to read it.

  36. I can’t wait to read the next Ginny Louise adventure. Tammi has created vivid, fun characters that capture childhood. Congrats on the newest.

  37. I love Ginny Louise and can’t wait to read her latest adventure. Field Day is a brilliant setting that kids will certainly enjoy.

  38. Great job creating the characters in “School Showdown!” Can’t wait for this book!

  39. The illustrations are wonderful ? I’m sure they enhance the fun of your story. Please do spare a word or two to mention the talented illustrator, Lynn Munsinger.
    #PicturesMeanBusiness

  40. Go, Ginny Louise! She’ll show ’em how to play fair. I like the field day setting. Haven’t seen a book on this topic before.

  41. Hooray for Ginny Louise! Another winner, I’m sure. 🙂

  42. The artwork for this story is so inviting. And the characters are adorable.

  43. Looks like another win for Tammi Sauer!

  44. Love the facial expressions in the illustrations. So inviting!

  45. Absolutely charming! Can’t wait to read your newest!

  46. Big congrats to you, Ginny Louise, and the whole gang! It looks ADORABLE. It was great to hear about how this second book took shape (and encouraging to know it didn’t come quickly). It made me curious to ask — when you had a new ‘school event’ idea, did you work up a manuscript for that idea, or did you run the ideas by your editor before working up your drafts?
    Thanks so much for sharing, Tammi, and have a wonderful book launch!

    • Early on, I ran the school play idea passed my editor. I then told her I’d give the school carnival idea a try. That ms went to acquisitions. I was asked to rework the setting from a school carnival to the school field day. It was a fairly easy transition.

  47. Field Day is a favorite and I’m sure this will be too. Thanks for offering a giveaway for a fun book.

  48. Congratulations, Tammi! I loved hearing about the behind the scenes genesis for this beautiful book!

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